AMIRAI placed a kiss on the twin’s forehead before I tucked the blankets around them. They had fallen asleep not long after I opened their favourite storybook. On some nights like this one, it was hard to get them to sleep in their individual bed so I just let them sleep on the same bed.“Today was a hectic one, huh?” Jamie spoke from their door as he leaned against it. I knew he was trying but I could see the worry on his face. It reminded me of Isla and Mira’s behaviours the entire day. They had been acting off like something was wrong and anytime I tried to get them to talk, it was futile because they would laugh it off and tell me I was imagining things but my gut knew something was wrong and they were keeping it from me. “Are you ready to talk?” I asked after I brushed my kids hair and turned to him with a raised brow. “Talk?” Jamie asked, pretending not to know what I was talking about. “Don’t play that game with me, Jamie. Isn’t that why you are here? To finally tell me
AMIRAI couldn’t sleep a wink last night. I lay awake the entire night worrying about the dark ones and what their new threats meant to our safety. I was scared for my boys. I didn’t want them to ever experience facing those monsters until they knew who they were. I was scared. If it had been just me, I may have been fine because I would be able to fight without any distractions or care if I was going to die in a fight. But the situation was different now. I couldn’t fight recklessly because I had to survive for my boys, for Jamie and his sisters. When the alarm clock finally rang beside my bed, I had not slept at all. I didn’t know if we would still open the bakery today since we planned to leave at night but I got up anyway to prepare in case they wanted to open one last time.I wondered if we were ever going to come back here. This was home for me now and there was an ache in my chest that I was leaving again.“Everything will be fine, Ami” Astrais whispered, my worry was makin
AMIRAI lost count of how long I had been fighting, but I knew it was long enough as exhaustion started to creep in. The Dark Ones seemed to have an endless number as they kept pouring into the town.“Just how many are they?” I growled just as I used my claw to tear through one that came for me.“Should we use our powers?” Astrais asked. “If you let me, we may be able to defeat them or most of them”“No, Astrais. We can’t. They are too much. If anyone sees us and takes that information to the rogue king, he will hunt us down and we can’t draw risk to the children” I reminded her.“Then we need to run. We can’t keep fighting because they keep coming”Astrais was right. We couldn’t fight them all off on our own. If it was before, when I had help back at the pack, we could have but now I had to think of just our kids.“But how do we run when they keep attacking us?” I grunted just as I dodged and attacked and swiped at the dark wolf I was fighting.I fought through the dark ones, killing
AMIRAMy heart was pounding in my chest as I ran. The dark one chasing us was persistent as he caught up with my speed. Exhaustion had caught up with me but the fear of what would happen if I dared to stop kept me pushing.“Just a little more, Astrais.” I urged even though I needed the encouragement as well.I knew Astrais was a powerful wolf and she could do more than what we displayed today but I had not shifted into my wolf for over six years and it has affected her as well.It almost felt like we were practising how to use our wolf form like a beginner. It didn’t help that I only shifted the night that I arrived in the town and had never shifted again so this was the second time in my entire life that I was shifting and the first time I would be fighting in this form.“I’m sorry, Amira. I should be able to do better” She howled in regret as we ran.“You have nothing to apologize for, Iris. If it wasn’t for you, our kids and I would not have survived this at all” I told her while m
AMIRAAstrais words forced back the threats from Valeria and I shook my head violently. “I can’t. We promised never to come back so Soren and my dad would be safe”I clutched Ezra close to my chest as tears fell from my face. I had never known misery like this and it was the worst feeling ever.“I can’t go back, Astrais. Let’s find another way” I pleaded, desperately searching for even the flimsiest hope I could hang on to.“You will” Astrais snapped, her voice the harshest I had ever heard “Are you going to let our son die just because of a greedy woman that had already gotten what she wanted the moment you left the pack?”“But…”“No buts, Amira” Astrais’ voice was unyielding “Ivannah must have become the Luna already and that was why they drove you out. If you don’t agree to go, I will take over your body forcefully and go back to the pack. Inara and Meridia would know what to do”Her words felt like a whip against my skin and I flinched at the harshness of her tone as she spoke.El
AMIRAStaring at my dad who had aged a lot since I had left stare at me with so many emotions in his teary eyes forced out all the emotions, I didn’t know were bottled up inside me until this moment.“Amira” Dad called with a shaky voice as if he couldn’t believe whether this was real or just a dream.“Dad” There were no words to describe how I was feeling. I could not tell him how I felt. It was just too much emotion to put into words.Dad’s trembling hands dropped the gardening tool he had been holding and in a few steps, I was engulfed in his arms.The moment Dad’s arms were around me, I lost them. I buried my face on his shoulders, sobbing loudly and without any control as I clung to him.“You are home” Dad’s hands tightened around me, pulling me impossibly closer with Ezra between us.His familiar scent of the earth and herbs filled my lungs, grounding me in a way I had never felt in a long time. It reminded me that I was home and how much I had missed him.“My little girl” Dad m
SORENI sat in my study, bored out of my mind with unfinished filework piled on my table. I turned my attention to the fireplace as I watched the fire flicker like a weak life force.Everything around me felt as dull as the flame. The office was too quiet, leaving me to Ignis’s wild thoughts, which I did not want to hear, but he was too powerful to shove to the back of my mind when he wasn’t willing to listen.“Ignoring me won’t make me go away, Soren”, Ignis mocked with a wolfish grin and a roll of his ember eyes “I just want to make sure that we become the most feared Alpha and no one would ever dare to fuck with us”“No one but my uncle. He is an elemental as well” I sighed tiredly and rubbed my forehead as I was starting to get a headache because of his continuous noisy suggestions.I was tired and wished he would stop filling me with unneeded ideas of what pack we needed to conquer next.Ignis scoffed, this time it was malicious and condescending “A red flame elemental. He is wea
KOAThe sound of my grunts echoed in the walls of the training room of Sparta. Sweat dripped down my back as I fought the simulated man. I managed to dodge the strike of his sword and countered it with a quick elbow to its ribs.The technology at Sparta was so high-end that we could feel the artificial opponents as though they were real, which made training much more efficient for the younger ones who had never encountered real combat outside the pack.“Adjust difficulty to maximum,” I commanded, and the soldier adjusted to my command, transforming into a half-shifted werewolf.He came at me very fast, but I was ready for it. I ducked and pivoted on my heels before landing a brutal kick to its chest, which sent him flying back. The man vanished mid-air, resetting the simulation.I rolled my shoulders, starting to feel the impact of sparring for over three hours. It was all because of Soren.He had become more sensitive.“That’s a mild way to put it,” My wolf, Zel, hissed at me, and he
AMIRALeonora’s hung over my head like a dark cloud. She was right. If Soren was insisting I stay, what would happen to Ivannah?Ivannah had been a thorn in my side for years. I hated her and her mother for everything they had ever done to me. But at the same time, I didn’t want to be the one to ruin her marriage to Soren even though I knew she was never supposed to be at his side.That wasn’t the way I lived my life. It was their way and the last thing I wanted to do was do anything they would ever do.All eyes were on me even though Soren had said he would deal with it. They were waiting for me to say I would let Soren deal with it. I couldn’t meet any of their gazes as I spoke “There is no need to deal with anything because I am leaving” No one said anything at first and I was afraid to look at the expressions on their faces. “The hell you are” Soren growled, his voice bellowing in the office. “You hear her?”His anger was overwhelming but I didn’t flinch because I expected it.
SORENThe room was suffocating and I wanted to get out. It was too much. The lies, betrayals and secrets that had all been laid bare for me felt like a fog that was blinding me and pulling me under. I looked at my father who stood unrepentant in the middle of the room and I still couldn’t believe what I had just heard. “You experimented on me” I said, this time my voice was calm but it was a huge contrast to how I felt on the inside. It was as though I was finally digesting everything that had been said. My father knew what I was. He knew I had a mate he tried to kill and just like Ami said, he tried to play God. “Why did you do it? To fight Curtis? Is that why you decided to do this?” I asked “Did you do it? Was that why you stopped being a scientist?” Noah had a weary expression but I couldn’t care less about the guilt on his face. All I wanted was answers and not the regret they didn’t have until they got caught. “Yes” He confessed “I was the head scientist of the operation
AMIRA I had not spoken a word to Dad from when we left the house until we arrived in front of Soren’s office. It was hard to ignore the whispers and fingers pointed at me as I walked to the pack house. It was the first time I had shown my face in public since I had returned, so the members were shocked to see that the rumours were true. Ruelle and Koa didn’t follow us to the office. We separated at the entrance and I pleaded with Ruelle to go back to my house so she would keep an eye on the twins while I thrashed this matter once and for all. “Ami” Dad called with a quiet tone but I was not ready to look at him. He would have to explain everything here. I knocked twice and pushed the door open. The air inside Soren’s office was thick with tension the moment we stepped inside. My eyes found Soren immediately and my chest tightened when I saw the anger and shock on his face. I wondered what happened before we got here. His shoulders were tense as though he was preparing for
AMIRA I stood by the edge of the bed and watched as Meridia worked quickly. Her old but experienced hands moved with ease and care as she tilted Ezra's head slightly and brought the vial to his lips while chanting softly. I held my breath as I watched every drop of liquid from the vial disappear into my baby’s mouth while I prayed silently that it worked. Dad placed a reassuring grip on my shoulder but I couldn’t take my eyes off Meridia. I was biting my tongue so I wouldn’t start to question Meridia and the effectiveness of the vial for the nth time. She said I needed to trust her and that was what I was trying to do. “It’s done” Meridia announced after placing Elias back on the bed and adjusting the covers over his little body. She stood up and faced Dad and I “The potion should kill off all the venom and the body will purge it out” My throat tightened “So he’s...” “He is going to be fine now, child. You have nothing to fear anymore” She assured me “His body will expel the
SOREN I stormed into my office, ready to slam the door and let out a growl that measured the intensity of my rage, but paused when I saw my parents waiting for me in the office. I was ready to kick them out, especially my father because I was not in the mood to deal with any of his bullshit today. “Look, whatever you have to say, keep it till later. I am not in the mood…” “Is it true?” Mum interrupted before I could finish my demand for them to leave. “Is what true?” I could see through the cracks of her false composure that she was worried. With the way she kept glancing at my father, I knew this would turn out like our other discussions, where he had never been able to control himself. “That Amira is back and with children?” I sighed tiredly. I had not bothered to tell them Amira was back or with my kids because I had been busy with Elias. “Yes” My dad shot to his feet, appearing in front of me in the blink of an eye. “And those children? Are they yours?” I clenched
AMIRA “Talk?” Dad asked with a confused expression “About what?” I felt a tiny tug at the helm of my shirt before I could answer and I looked down to see Elias with wide teary eyes staring up at me. “Eli?” I bent down so I was at eye level and wiped his cheeks “Why are you crying, baby?” “Why did Daddy leave? Is he angry with me?” His trembling voice broke my heart and I pulled him into a tight hug. “No, baby” I peppered multiple on both sides of his face “Daddy isn’t mad at you” “Then why did he leave? I want to go with him” Fresh waves of tears appeared again. My heart clenched painfully in my chest. There was no doubt that Ezra had gotten attached to Soren. I wanted to be happy that Elias found it so easy to bond with Soren just barely two days after they met but at the same time, it hurt me that he would not be able to spend much time with his father since I planned to leave the pack when Ezra had recovered. “Did you spend all the time when I was gone with your fa
AMIRAI stepped out of the portal into the house. Thankfully, the portal brought us back to where we had left off.“The house is quiet. Are they at the pack house?” Koa asked as he stepped out after me.“No, they are still here. I smell them. They should be at the back” Koa followed me to the garden.As soon as I stepped through the back door, familiar delighted gasps reached my ears.“Mummy” Elias squealed with wide eyes when he saw me. His small feet pattered across the floor as he raced towards me with his small arms outstretched.I bent down and picked him up as soon as he reached me. I missed him so much. I had never stayed away from them for this long. I peppered kisses all over his face and was rewarded with excited giggles as he tried to push me away playfully.“I missed you, Eli. So so much” I leaned back to study his face.“Me too, but I had so much fun playing with Daddy and Grandpa. Did you bring the medicine for Ezra? Will he be fine now?”Amira softened, brushing his curl
IVANNAHI stared at the door with a new kind of numbness and hurt. I could feel everything I had ever worked for slip away from my fingers like water; it was terrifying. I lifted my hand to pound the door down. How dare Soren do this to me?I suffered years of humiliation and insults to remain by his side, as the Luna of the pack and he runs to Amira as soon as she returns. What happened to the years of hatred he harboured for that bitch?My hand fell back lifelessly against my sides. There was no use knocking. The result would only be as cold-hearted as the one I had just received, if not more.“Mum will know what to do” I whispered to myself before I turned away from the door.I ignored the sneers and looks of curiosity as my legs hurried me towards my mother. My breaths were uneven and ragged as I picked up the pace, almost in a sprint as my desperation rose.Mom had moved into the pack house after she had a nasty fight with Dad after Amira left. Dad was hell-bent on finding her ba
SORENI held Elias to my chest as I walked around the room. He had fallen asleep in my arms, and I was reluctant to put him down. I pressed a kiss to his curls as his heartbeat matched mine. It was peaceful and calm.I felt warm holding him to my chest and I would stay like this forever if I could. His tiny hand clutched my shirt tightly and I told myself he held me like that because he trusted me and didn’t want me to leave.Noah had something to do in town, so he left me to watch over the kids. Meridia had come over earlier to check on Ezra and make sure that the venom was not spreading fast and left me with a vial to always give him a drop every hour.A knock at the door interrupted my moment with Elias. I took a whiff of the air and my eyes narrowed when I smelt Ivannah. What was she doing here?I took Elias back inside and lay him down beside his brother. I kissed both of them on their foreheads before walking out of the room and shutting the door behind me.When I approached the